LISTEN: Creepy AI Telemarketer Sounds Human, Denies Being a Robot

Dec 11, 2013 By Henrik Palmgren | redice.tv

It’s pretty shocking to hear just how far this technology has come. Most people would probably NOT realize they were talking to a machine that is gathering our verbal cues to use against us. These recordings are demonstrably creepy, and a good reminder that just because we experience something through our five senses, it doesn’t mean it’s ’real’.

The newest telemarketer to come on the market is actually a robot that has one of the most sophisticated text-to-speech recognition engines on the market today. Designed by Loquendo, an Italian-based company, it is so authentic it even won an award in 2009 for the best speech engine on the market today.

This makes it extremely difficult for the average consumer to even tell that they are talking to a robot until they are told to punch a number to speak to a live representative. Telemarketing companies using this technology are finding many advantages in that those who are actually put through to a human are often interested in what’s being offered. But this goes beyond telemarketing in that any voice can be used which opens its use to many areas where the opinions of others, and influencing those opinions, can impact the future. For instance, if Hillary Clinton’s voice were used on a robot and called voters individually to “chat” prior to a presidential election, would they be more likely to vote for her?Source